It was a big happy birther day on Capitol Hill this week as a staffer from the Huffington Post caught up with — and jogged alongside in many cases — almost a dozen Republican members of Congress to get their thoughts on whether President Barack Obama is a natural-born U.S. citizen and hence constitutionally qualified to occupy the White House. U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany is in the video and is one of a majority of GOP solons to give tacit credence to the long-ago discredited “birther” argument.
“I think there are questions. We’ll have to see,” the Lafayette congressman and retired surgeon replies on the run when pressed on the issue. In fact, only GOP Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., pauses long enough to give a lucid response: “Actually, I believe Barack Obama was born in Hawaii when Hawaii was a state of the United States and therefore he is a constitutionally natural-born citizen of this country.”
The birther movement gained traction on the far right shoulder of the political road last year as the Illinois senator became the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination. It moved from rightwing blogs to mainstream media in August 2008 when Jerome Corsi — he of Swift Boat fame — laid it out on Fox News.
The issue of President Obama’s country of birth — answered and documented to the satisfaction of mainstream news outlets — crept back into the news cycle in recent weeks when a major in the Army Reserve, Stefan Cook, filed suit in federal court challenging his redeployment on the grounds that Obama is not a natural-born U.S. citizen and therefore an illegitimate commander-in-chief. Cook’s attorney, California dentist-lawyer-real estate agent (we kid not) Orly Taitz, is the self-proclaimed leader of the birther movement who counts among her Facebook friends Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, House Republican Whip Eric Cantor and GOP Reps. Mary Bono Mack and Cynthia Lummis, according to Politico.
The question, to most minds, was answered last fall when Hawaii’s governor and director of the state’s Department of Health both confirmed the birth certificate. FactCheck.org, a non-partisan truth-in-politics group — part of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania — also painstakingly confirmed the birth certificate, examined it in person, and produced birth announcements from August 1961 printed in Hawaii newspapers.
One of the arguments of the birthers — made a recently as July 17 by Taitz on CNN’s Lou Dobbs Tonight (Kitty Pilgrim was subbing for Dobbs and summarized the FactCheck.org debunking of the birther claims moments before opening Taitz’s mic.) — is that Obama has produced only a “certificate of live birth” from Hawaii, not a birth certificate. Louisiana birth certificates issued in 1994 and 1997 for two INDsider offspring are also titled “Certificate of Live Birth.”
Contacted Tuesday morning about the video, a spokeswoman in Boustany’s Washington, D.C., office replied, “We’ll get back to you.” This story will be updated when we get a response from the congressman.
... written by justwandering , July 28, 2009 - 05:06 pm
Huffington Post is your source..........mainstream media? One solution to answering this question is to release the long form birth certificate. Case closed....
... written by fact check changed their facts , July 28, 2009 - 06:23 pm
Fact Check and Snopes can no longer be cited as valid "fact checking" sources as they have recently changed their "facts" in relation to Obama's birth hospital.
... written by Talley Band , July 28, 2009 - 06:46 pm
It was a legitimate question but I don't believe there is any there, there. You know, it's settled. Nevertheless, like other un-dieing ideas: who killed Kennedy (it was Oswald!!) and the man on the moon was faked in a Hollywood studio (it was real you knuckle heads) and my name is Talley Band (it's not!).
Of course the biggest lie this year; Obama's estimate of the cost of government health care. A trillion? Hell know, because it is unknowable. But it is likely to turn the USA into the economic miracle of the old USSR. I can't wait equal but crappy health care for all!
... written by Acadiana Watch , July 28, 2009 - 08:26 pm
If you would do your research, Walter, you would have listened to Boustany on KPEL this morning. You would have heard him say that he absolutely believes President Obama is a citizen, due to the short form certificate he provided, as well as newspaper archives in Hawaii and state officials' testimony.
You would have heard him say that there has been no proof showing otherwise.
Therefore, he is not a "birther", and this blog piece is worthless, except maybe for you to jump in with your left-wing buddies in trying to label another Republican as an extremist.
... written by Walter Pierce, Managing Editor , July 28, 2009 - 08:33 pm
I didn't realize listening to the radio in the morning was research, AW. If Boustany believes as you say, it doesn't square with his response, "I think there are questions." It sounds like backtracking to me. I'll wait for the congressman's office to contact me; I have a call in.
... written by Informed , July 28, 2009 - 10:18 pm
The issue of President Obama’s country of birth — answered and documented to the satisfaction of mainstream news outlets
The issue isn't his country of birth. The issue is his citizenship status. Is he or is he not a "natural born" citizen? This, according to original intent was "born to parents who are citizens, and under the jurisdiction of the country of their citizenship". Whether or not "mainstream news outlets" are satisfied doesn't mean squat. The twentieth amendment, section three requires that the President elect prove his qualifications (eligibility being one) to Congress or they must name a replacement.
... written by Sola Fidelity , July 28, 2009 - 10:20 pm
"The birther movement gained traction on the far right shoulder of the political road… "
This is falsely being painted as a right wing movement. Philip J. Berg (obamacrimes.com), an attorney who was among the first to bring legal charges against Obama, is a lifelong Democrat. Republicans aren't the only ones who care about the Constitution.
... written by Sola Fidelity , July 28, 2009 - 10:27 pm
"Louisiana birth certificates issued in 1994 and 1997 for two INDsider offspring are also titled “Certificate of Live Birth.â€"
The issue isn't the title of the document (The one presented by Obama's campaign team was a "Certification of Live Birth, by the way), it is the completeness of the document. It doesn't contain the information complete Birth Certificates contain. I would wager that your offspring's certs had the name of a hospital and an attending physician on them. Further, as more and more people are finally understanding, the document is available for out of state births (http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/vol06_ch0321-0344/HRS0338/HRS_0338-0017_0008.HTM) so it does not prove Obama was born in Hawaii, not that he would automatically be eligible for POTUS even if he was.
... written by NJG , July 28, 2009 - 10:51 pm
Forget the birth certificate. The real issue is that regardless of where he was born, Obama is ineligible simply because he possessed Kenyan/British citizenship at birth thru his father. Read what Vattel said in "The Law of Nations." Vattel was very influential in the early United States, and he makes clear that if someone's father is not a citizen then the child cannot be natural born. Also see the U.S. Supreme Court discussions in The Venus, 12 U.S. 8 Cranch 289 (1814) and also Minor v. Happersett, 88 U.S. 21 Wall. 167-168 (1874).
This isn't a matter of conspiracy or speculation; it's simply a matter of historical legal fact.
Attorneys Leo Donofrio and Mario Apuzzo are good sources on this particular argument.
... written by Papa Ray , July 29, 2009 - 02:03 am
I really don't give a crap where he was born, but I do care what he is, and it is apparent to anyone with a half a brain and that is paying attention (which 80 percent of America isn't) that he is a radical socialist, way way left leaning. Inspired by Marxism and Communism and has a deep hatred of whites.
And that he does not cherish and love the United States of America.
Papa Ray West Texas
... written by JoePolitico , July 29, 2009 - 02:14 am
Are you f#!@king guys for real....get over it he is a citizen and he won the election....learn to live with those facts.
... written by well.... , July 29, 2009 - 05:50 am
give it up.............he was born in hawaii
... written by Common Sense , July 29, 2009 - 01:08 pm
Walter:
Merely listening to the radio may not be research, but it seems to me if you had proper research channels or contacts someone could have informed you of Boustany's statement the morning before you posted this piece.
His office probably didn't return your call, no simply because you're a left-winger, but because you're a hack. Other lefties like Bill Decker don't seem to have a problem getting a hold of the Congressman or a response from his office.
... written by LafayetteGrapevine , July 29, 2009 - 01:48 pm
Obama's mother was American, so doesn't that make Obama an American Citizen? I'm not a birther, cause the issue is moot. Obama is our President. Period. HOWEVER, just because some officials said they saw a document, and a certificate of live birth was produced, and main stream media says the issue is settled, and leftist are calling those on the right nuts, does not prove to me that Obama was born in the United States. The issue is suspicious just because no one, including Obama himself, will produce a birth certificate. And as such, the leftist are playing into the conspiracy theorists hands. Not enough answers leads to too many questions.
... written by JP , July 29, 2009 - 01:49 pm
Wow, what a shame that we spend so much energy on such a ridiculous non-issue. Let's put it right up there with the official "Freedom Fries" designation.
... written by charlierob , July 29, 2009 - 06:18 pm
Come back to reality! You can oppose the president all you want, but stop embarrassing yourself and eliminating your credibility by trying to grasp at lies to nullify his election...
... written by Warren Bonesteel , July 29, 2009 - 06:37 pm
So... If we can't ask about Obama's birth certificate without being dismissed as nutjob, tinfoil-hat conspiracy theorists, can we ask a few other questions without being maligned solely through the use of childish name calling, silly syllogism and sorry sophistry??
 Ok. So let's forget the birth certificate for a moment, and ask Mr. Obama a couple of other questions...or are we still allowed to do that?
 Kindergarten records.
 (Not even a kindergarten record?)
Punahou school records Occidental College records Columbia University records Columbia thesis Harvard Law School records Harvard Law Review articles scholarly articles from the University of Chicago passport medical records files from his years as an Illinois state senator Illinois State Bar Association records baptism records, if any adoption records
 All missing or otherwise unavailable.
 There is no American birth certificate for Obama. None. Zero. Zip. Nada. A COLB is not an original, legal, birth certificate nor is an ad in the lifestyle section of a local newspaper considered to be a legal birth certificate. Public statements by politicians and bureaucrats are not legal birth certificates. Although such things can be considered as evidence, they are not proof. They are hearsay evidence, only.
It's a simple question. Where's the original, legal birth certificate?
Oh, that's right! I forgot. We're not allowed to ask...
... written by Informed , July 29, 2009 - 11:50 pm
The twentieth amendment, section three:
â€3. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.â€
The Congress is instructed by this section to name an interim President in two cases, the death of the "President elect", or the "failure to qualify" of the President elect.
There is only one set of qualifications that are not health related in the U.S. Constitution and they are in Article two, section two:
†No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.â€
Congressman at the state and Federal level are bound by oath in Article six:
“ The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, "shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution"; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.â€
This means that Congress MUST verify whether or not the President elect is "qualified", (meets "eligibility requirements) before allowing him to assume office. If he doesn't pass muster, they are required by the Constitution to name an interim President.
Their oath of office requires that they enforce the entire Constitution, not just the parts they want. The first three words of the Constitution are "We the People". We are the boss. It's time that we DEMAND the the very document that protects us from tyranny and oppression is OBEYED to the fullest extent or this nation along with the dreams of our children are gone.
To those who think this is a non-issue, consider for a second that you might be wrong and what the consequences are if you are. Our soldiers fighting in Afghanistan would be there illegally and not subject to the laws of the Geneva Convention. Our foreign policy would possibly be held captive to blackmail by those who have evidence of fraud by the President. Do we as a nation deserve to endure this risk when all that is needed to clear things up are a few simple, ordinary, everyday documents? There is NO excuse to force the citizens of this nation into such a posture other than having something to hide.
... written by JP , July 30, 2009 - 12:52 pm
No American birth certificate for Obama? Really? Then what did the people at FactCheck.org put their hands on and study? "FactCheck.org staffers have now seen, touched, examined and photographed the original birth certificate." http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html
What did the Hawaii state Dept. of Health verify? "Fukino said she has “personally seen and verified that the Hawaii State Department of Health has Sen. Obama’s original birth certificate on record in accordance with state policies and procedures."
So what do you guys want? You want to pass Obama's birth certificate around the country for everyone to feel? And what do all his school records and baptism records have to do with his status as an American citizen? Or would you rather believe a pig like Jerome Corsi?
You can ask all the questions you want. But when legitimate people provide legitimate answers, we do hope for you to move on. Yeah, imagine if people would direct this kind of energy to real issues. We might pull ourselves out of this floundering, ignorant, consumerist state we're in.
... written by Phil , July 30, 2009 - 03:28 pm
I want to see a legitimate copy of a birth certificate, issued by Hawaii, listing the physician, and the hospital of birth. I want to know how attended a school in Indonesia as a native Muslim, traveled to foreign non-US travel countries on a non-US passport.
I believe the Constitution is clear about this, and the Constitution is not just a silly piece of paper.
The Congress had a big inquisition several years ago over McCain, because he was born on a military base, Coco Solo, on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal. Both his parents were US Citizens, and his father a serving officer in the Navy, and a military base is considered US soil.
If they were so painstaking with McCain, why are they so casual about Barry Soetoro. Why would he fight 47 major lawsuits that simple ask that he release this document.
What about the Fullbright scholarship he received, which is only awarded to foreign students?
FactCheck.org is a liberal pro-Obama organization. So what they have "seen, touched, smelled or heard" is suspect. And if they had the real birth certificate, not the certification of live birth, and read which hospital he was born at, and who was the attending physician, why can't we know that?
... written by JP , July 30, 2009 - 04:13 pm
Yeah, sure, FactCheck is a liberal pro-Obama org. I guess that's why they picked apart his speech on health care and found "false and questionable statements." http://www.factcheck.org/2009/...nference/
And I guess the Hawaii Dept of Health is a liberal pro-Obama organization too?
Regarding the school he attended in Indonesia, it was not a "Muslim school" and Obama was not a Muslim for attending it. The school taught both Muslim and Christian religions, which seems logical since those religions are the vast majority in that country. But I guess you can't come to know these facts if you live in a partisan echo chamber.
... written by Informed , July 30, 2009 - 11:10 pm
JP, If Obama is proven to have lied about his eligibility status, would you support his removal from office?
... written by PaulRon , July 30, 2009 - 11:20 pm
To all the birthers in La, La Land, it is on you to prove to all of us that your assertion is true, if there are people who were there and support your position then show us the video (everyone has a price), either put up or frankly shut-up. I heard Orly Taitz, is selling a tape (I think it’s called “Money, Lies and Video tapeâ€). She is from Orange County, CA, now I know what the mean when they say “behind the Orange Curtainâ€, when they talk about Orange County, the captial of Conspiracy Theories. You know Obama has a passport, he travel abroad before he was a Senator, but I guess he fooled them too?
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“I think there are questions. We’ll have to see,” the Lafayette congressman and retired surgeon replies on the run when pressed on the issue. In fact, only GOP Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., pauses long enough to give a lucid response: “Actually, I believe Barack Obama was born in Hawaii when Hawaii was a state of the United States and therefore he is a constitutionally natural-born citizen of this country.” 
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